Sydney, May 4 (Inditop) Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic said Monday she left home nine years ago to escape the physical abuse meted out by her father, Damir.
The 26-year-old told the Sydney Morning Herald she was “pretty lucky to be here” after a tumultuous family life that saw her abandon Australia and then return after splitting with her father, a former boxer and Belgrade taxi driver.
“I’ve been through a lot worse than anyone on the tour,” Dokic said. “When you go through stuff like that, playing a tennis match is a pretty easy thing to do.”
Dokic, who is estranged from her father, represented Australia in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She left her adopted country the following year to return to Serbia with Damir.
Three years ago she was accepted back in Australia, and in January reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after being granted a wild-card entry.
Dokic, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2000, held the world no 4 ranking two years later.
She was at no 31 in the most recent rankings.
rounak